What's good
- Excellent battery life
- Decent day-to-day performance
- Good build quality
What's bad
- Low resolution display
- Very limited onboard storage
- Performance lag during multi-tasking
The Xperia C is Sony's attempt to gain back some of the mid-range market segment it has lost to other phone manufacturers. The lower cost of entry does mean that Sony had to forego many of the premium materials and specs that graced the Xperia Z flagship. Instead of incorporating metal into the chassis of the phone, the Xperia C is made entirely of soft touch plastic. It suffers from the same thick bezels as the Xperia Z, which makes it slightly on the large size at 5.6 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches. Luckily, it was still comfortable for reviewers to use the phone for long periods of time.
The front of the Xperia C is dominated by the 5-inch, 540x960 qHD display, for an underwhelming pixel density of 220ppi. The lower resolution means that reviewers had some issues with aliasing around UI icons and reading smaller text on the web. Still, they go on to say that the resolution isn't terrible as images are still relatively sharp and the display itself has vibrant colors and good whites. They note though that viewing angles and deep blacks are not the Xperia C's strong points.
Although it doesn't have the latest Snapdragon chipset, the Xperia C does come with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It is, by no stretch of the imagination, what experts consider a gamer's rig but it performed without a hitch during basic tasks and casual games. Once they started multitasking, however, there was some noticeable choppiness and lag. The 4GB of internal storage will disappoint many serial app downloaders. There is an expandable microSD slow but it only allows up to 32GB. Perhaps the only impressive piece of hardware is the 2,330 mAh battery. Critics were able to get 2 days-worth of moderate usage and were able to extend it to three when just using it for basic tasks.
As with the rest of the phone, the 8MP camera isn't awful, but it isn't show stopping either. Reviewers were able to capture decent images with good color in decent lighting, but once they ventured into low light territory, images were blurry and grainy. They did appreciate the fast autofocus and LED flash but The Mobile Indian notes, "…there are many handsets below this price point that could deliver the same."
Overall, reviewers consider the Sony Xperia C a decent mid-range device though not as competitive as it could be. NDTV states, "The Sony Xperia comes with a decent 5-inch display, good build quality and decent battery backup…However, we cannot say that the Xperia C is expcetional…" Phone Arena says, "…we actually enjoyed fondling with the Sony Xperia C…Individual things…could have been better, yet at the end of the day, they felt perfectly adequate."
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Ketan Pratap, NDTVThe Sony Xperia C comes with a decent 5-inch display, good build quality and decent battery backup. In addition, Sony's Xperia UI skin on the Xperia C is not as radical as HTC's Sense UI or Samsung's TouchWiz UI, and is simple and easy to use - in this iteration, it is much closer to stock Android t...
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Sony Xperia C user manual here.
Sony backs up the Xperia C with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Xperia C has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Sony support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Sony's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- Sony Xperia C Manual (PDF)
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